Beer you like but have never brewed?

[Miraculix]

I've only done the rice wine with those yeast balls. I always end up dumping it. It seems fun at first, but just can't drink the stuff.

Same here... But I keep on trying!

 

[bwible]

There's all kinds of stuff that I enjoy a pint of, but just can't imagine having 5 gallons of it tying up a keg. For example, I used to make a Burton Ale each year for the winter, but it would frequently linger into the following autumn. I really enjoy that style, but I just didn't drink it at a suitable velocity to justify tying up a keg for most of a year.

Bingo. I have a 5 gallon keg full of a club brew bourbon barrel aged RIS that has been tying up one of the 2 taps on my kegerator for about 8 months now. And its still about 3/4 full. It’s a great beer, but I just don’t drink it much. After this, I won’t do that again.

I brew barleywine once a year and that gets bottled. Because that’s another beer that tends to hang around for awhile. I did a rauchbier at the beginning of the year and that’s another one I’m glad I put in bottles.

 

[bwible]

I’ve never brewed a Hefe or a wee heavy. Planning a wee heavy in the next few months though.

I’ve brewed Hefe several times, but I never mashed wheat. I use wheat DME whenever I brew Hefe.

 

[bwible]

Any lager. I just don't have the equipment (spare fridge, mostly). I largely prefer them over Ales. I could do a two gallon batch in my mini fridge but I don't know if it's worth all the time and effort. Someday.

Yeah same here. Pretty much all of the lager styles. I don’t have a spare fridge to control temp and lager in. In addition to our house fridge, I’m already running a True commercial glass front beer fridge for bottles and a 2 tap kegerator. So my wife would not be happy if I bought another fridge to use for brewing - even a small one.

I’ve been doing psuedo-lagers - fermenting lager recipes with ale yeast. Had decent results with neutral American strains like 1056 and 1272. 1099 also worked very well. They list blonde ale under the styles 1099 can make, so I thought why not. I’m about to do an American Premium lager type recipe using Fermentis 34/70 and fermenting it at basement temps. Read many good comments about fermenting this yeast warm. I was going to do that beer today, but now I won’t be able to brew it until tomorrow. Really high hopes for this one. I planned a light lager and then I’m going to follow that up with an amber lager to re-use the same yeast.

My normal batch is 3 gallons. Works out to a case plus a 6 pack. I brew 3 gallon recipes on my Anvil Foundry 6.5. I formulate my recipes to collect 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5. 3.5 goes in the fermenter so I actually end up with 3 gallons when all is done.

 

[bwible]

Anvil has a kit with a controller and submersible pump to control fermentation temp from a cooler of icewater. 99$ i think. It works

They have been out of stock on those for awhile now. When they first introduced them they came with an Inkbird controller. Then they switched controllers from Inkbird to their own, and I’m guessing they are having a problem sourcing those controllers now. Under “parts” you can buy all the pieces individually except their controller right now.

I bought all the parts and an Inkbird controller elsewhere a couple months ago, haven’t used it yet. I am planning to try it, but I’m skeptical about using ice water in a cooler. How long is a bag of ice going to last? And it’s a another manual thing to look after - to keep replacing ice or ice packs. Its ability to cool is only going to be as good as the amount of fresh ice in the cooler.

The drilled stopper they sell with this kit is a #7, which fits a standard 5 gallon carboy but not a 6.5 gallon. So its good for a 3 gallon batch like I brew. But if you want to ferment a 5 gallon batch you will need to drill your own stopper or rig something else by drilling a bucket lid or something. A 6.5 gallon carboy uses a smaller stopper so it might be difficult to drill. The Fermonster probably would be a better candidate. Buy a spare solid lid and drill it for a #7 stopper. Unless you buy one of Anvil’s bucket fermentors for $139 and another $50 for the insulating jacket.

 

[WesBrew]

They have been out of stock on those for awhile now. When they first introduced them they came with an Inkbird controller. Then they switched controllers from Inkbird to their own, and I’m guessing they are having a problem sourcing those controllers now. Under “parts” you can buy all the pieces individually except their controller right now.
I bought all the parts and an Inkbird controller elsewhere a couple months ago, haven’t used it yet. I am planning to try it, but I’m skeptical about using ice water in a cooler. How long is a bag of ice going to last? And it’s a another manual thing to look after - to keep replacing ice or ice packs. Its ability to cool is only going to be as good as the amount of fresh ice in the cooler.

True and the attention to the cooler depends. ambient temp, ferment temp, quality of cooler. I have the set with the inkbird controller and it has worked well. Lagers required more attention. I used a bunch of ice-packs from amazon and swapped them out rather than adding more ice.

 

[Taket_al_Tauro]

I have found that smaller batch brewing (in the 2 to 3 gallon range) really helps with working in trial recipes or brewing bigger beers. High ABV beers benefit from several months of aging (maybe not IIPA). While I keg most of my batches, bottling off a case or so of a Quad, Barleywine, Imperial Stout, etc. works out well.

This is wise advice for sure. The problem is, I actually went the opposite route. Given that I cannot brew as often as I would like, I said "screw it, let me at least brew larger batches". So I'm now brewing in the 12-14 gallon range. I'm having lots of fun with it because I now split batches in 2 fermenters per default, testing diffrerent yeasts, and so on... but this setup does not really encourage high ABV brewing. I mean, it would be possible, for example, to use the first runnings for a high ABV beer and the remaining, thinner wort for a lower ABV one. But then you have to boil and then chill them separately, which complicates things a bit.
At the end of the day, since I'm not that big fan of the really high ABV stuff, it's not really a problem for me.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

My normal batch is 3 gallons. Works out to a case plus a 6 pack. I brew 3 gallon recipes on my Anvil Foundry 6.5. I formulate my recipes to collect 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5. 3.5 goes in the fermenter so I actually end up with 3 gallons when all is done.

Nice! I feel like this is the most over looked batch size. When was the last time you went to the store an purchased two full cases of any one craft beer? Yet somehow brewing two cases has become the standard batch size. I do a lot of 2.5 gallon stove top batches, but I have been really tempted to pick up one of the Anvil Foundry 6.5 gallon systems.

I have also found that small batch brewing lets me brew much more often. Where brewing a 5 gallon batch on my propane burner usually requires me to fit in a weekend day, I can pretty much whip out a 2.5 gallon batch on my stove on any random evening without worrying about it being raining/snowing/dark. (Though with more opportunities these days to get together with friends to share beer, full size batches are also nice to keep the supply full.)

 

[Beerstein]

I’ve brewed Hefe several times, but I never mashed wheat. I use wheat DME whenever I brew Hefe.

I've mashed wheat up to 25% for other types of beer. I always use rice hulls and when using high amounts of wheat or rye, I also use Glucabust. I've got a container of Novozyme Ultraflow I want to try soon.

 

[beersk]

Bingo. I have a 5 gallon keg full of a club brew bourbon barrel aged RIS that has been tying up one of the 2 taps on my kegerator for about 8 months now. And its still about 3/4 full. It’s a great beer, but I just don’t drink it much. After this, I won’t do that again.

I brew barleywine once a year and that gets bottled. Because that’s another beer that tends to hang around for awhile. I did a rauchbier at the beginning of the year and that’s another one I’m glad I put in bottles.

You can certainly beer gun a bunch of that into bottles. It won't harm it.

 

[beersk]

Nice! I feel like this is the most over looked batch size. When was the last time you went to the store an purchased two full cases of any one craft beer? Yet somehow brewing two cases has become the standard batch size. I do a lot of 2.5 gallon stove top batches, but I have been really tempted to pick up one of the Anvil Foundry 6.5 gallon systems.

I have also found that small batch brewing lets me brew much more often. Where brewing a 5 gallon batch on my propane burner usually requires me to fit in a weekend day, I can pretty much whip out a 2.5 gallon batch on my stove on any random evening without worrying about it being raining/snowing/dark. (Though with more opportunities these days to get together with friends to share beer, full size batches are also nice to keep the supply full.)

I agree. I do a lot of 3.5 gallon (2.5 gallons into keg) batches as well and it's a nice size, especially if you don't share that much or drink that much (both of which I occasionally do). Sometimes a batch will last a week and a half in the keg, sometimes a month. That's kinda nice, easy to run out of beer fast though. But, like you said, you can brew more often, which I have lots of time to do. Bigger batches makes perfect sense for those who have lots of parties and/or can't brew that often, both of which don't apply to me.

That said, I still brew 5 gallon batches as well. But sometimes a keg will last 2 months. Funny thing is, I drink the first, about, 2.5 gallons pretty quick, then the last 2.5 gallons takes forever it seems. Even back in 2010 when I first started kegging I always felt like I got tired of a beer about halfway through the keg.

Today I'm brewing a 3.5 gallon batch of Traditional Bock that I'll lager until sometime in the late fall, I'm thinking.

 

[Beerstein]

I agree. I do a lot of 3.5 gallon (2.5 gallons into keg) batches as well and it's a nice size, especially if you don't share that much or drink that much (both of which I occasionally do). Sometimes a batch will last a week and a half in the keg, sometimes a month. That's kinda nice, easy to run out of beer fast though. But, like you said, you can brew more often, which I have lots of time to do. Bigger batches makes perfect sense for those who have lots of parties and/or can't brew that often, both of which don't apply to me.

That said, I still brew 5 gallon batches as well. But sometimes a keg will last 2 months. Funny thing is, I drink the first, about, 2.5 gallons pretty quick, then the last 2.5 gallons takes forever it seems. Even back in 2010 when I first started kegging I always felt like I got tired of a beer about halfway through the keg.

Today I'm brewing a 3.5 gallon batch of Traditional Bock that I'll lager until sometime in the late fall, I'm thinking.

I keep my Brower's Edge around for 2.5 gallon batches. I put these into 2.5 gallon torpedo kegs and they (mostly) fit on the compressor bump in my keezer. Unfortunately, this size goes fast with family + friends drinking it. I need a bigger keezer. Also the 2.5 size fits in a 2.6 gallon barrel pretty well.

 

[beersk]

I keep my Brower's Edge around for 2.5 gallon batches. I put these into 2.5 gallon torpedo kegs and they (mostly) fit on the compressor bump in my keezer. Unfortunately, this size goes fast with family + friends drinking it. I need a bigger keezer. Also the 2.5 size fits in a 2.6 gallon barrel pretty well.

Yeah, if you're sharing a whole bunch of it, it goes fast. I feel like right now especially, with covid being the ***** that it is, people are going to start limiting their social groups again, and that's not a bad idea. But because of that, I'll be taking less growlers places and having less people over, not that I ever have many people over to begin with. I do like hosting little happy hours with a group of 4 or 5 friends though. That's when it's good to have those bigger batches on hand. But, hey, if you run out of beer because your friends drank it all, they owe you

 

[Beerstein]

Yeah, if you're sharing a whole bunch of it, it goes fast. I feel like right now especially, with covid being the ***** that it is, people are going to start limiting their social groups again, and that's not a bad idea. But because of that, I'll be taking less growlers places and having less people over, not that I ever have many people over to begin with. I do like hosting little happy hours with a group of 4 or 5 friends though. That's when it's good to have those bigger batches on hand. But, hey, if you run out of beer because your friends drank it all, they owe you

I echo your feelings. I'm at risk, and work from home 100%. I've been having work colleagues over after work. We sit outside (when it's not raining) and I bring them pints without ever getting close to them. Me thinks my friends are too nice with their beer comments.

 

[oakbarn]

I will have a Witbier in a bar but have never brewed one. We have several beers that are our staples and always seem that we are out of ......

http://www.oakbarnbrewery.com/products.html

 

[beersk]

I echo your feelings. I'm at risk, and work from home 100%. I've been having work colleagues over after work. We sit outside (when it's not raining) and I bring them pints without ever getting close to them. Me thinks my friends are too nice with their beer comments.

I don't know, I think good friends are usually genuine when they tell you your beer is good.
On the other hand, it's different when someone praises you for brewing good beer all the time, yet never asks to drink any of it.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I don't know, I think good friends are usually genuine when they tell you your beer is good.

I have found the best compliment is when they go back for a second pint!

 

[MikeTHIS]

I love Kolsch & if a brewery has one on the menu, I’ll judge them based on how how close they come to a real Kolsch.

I haven’t brewed one because I doubt I could make it to my standard.

Not as difficult as you’d imagine. I brewed one and people still ask me to make another (I do regularly lol)

To answer the thread, a sour. And I will soon.

 

[jtratcliff]

I've been contemplating a Gose...

Don't really have lagering capability (just a coolish, tiny basement)... So also thinking about a room temp lager with 34/70...

Steam beer/California Common...

Would like to try a NEIPA, but doubt my oxygen prevention would let it last very long...

So many to choose from!

 

[bwible]

Yesterday I was drinking a scotch ale, and was thinking about how much I enjoy scotch ales, and thought about how I've never brewed one. Has anyone else encountered this? I'll have to put it on the to brew list.

Good timing. Just got the latest BYO. It has a Scottish Ale recipe in it,

 

[TheMadKing]

Flanders Red, such a hard style to get right that I'm scared to try it

 

[bwible]

Nice! I feel like this is the most over looked batch size. When was the last time you went to the store an purchased two full cases of any one craft beer? Yet somehow brewing two cases has become the standard batch size. I do a lot of 2.5 gallon stove top batches, but I have been really tempted to pick up one of the Anvil Foundry 6.5 gallon systems.

I have also found that small batch brewing lets me brew much more often. Where brewing a 5 gallon batch on my propane burner usually requires me to fit in a weekend day, I can pretty much whip out a 2.5 gallon batch on my stove on any random evening without worrying about it being raining/snowing/dark. (Though with more opportunities these days to get together with friends to share beer, full size batches are also nice to keep the supply full.)

I started doing it because I am the only one in my house who drinks beer. My wife will occasionally drink one, but not very often. We’re not big party throwing people.

Spot on that I don’t recall ever going to the store and buying 2 cases of the same beer, not even for a party.

Then you start doing multiplication with the 5 gallon batches - if I brew 1 batch = 2 cases, 3 batches = 6 cases, 5 batches = 10 cases, etc. That’s a lot of beer for one person and its not long before you’re overwhelmed with beer you can’t drink in a reasonable time and you’re out of bottles and kegs. And you get more variety with the smaller batches.

I do understand the guys who have big families and a number of friends brewing larger batches. Everybody does what fills their needs. I have less need.

I’ve gotten to where I keep 2 kegs on tap in my kegerator, usually 3 gallons each. And there’s an empty space where I can store or lager a third keg. The 5 gallons of club brew was a one off.

And I try to keep 6 cases in bottles. But then I don’t count the stronger beers in those, because those are around for awhile. I have 2 cases of barleywine. I have a case of old ale. I did 3 gallons of a maple beer using real maple syrup. Its strong and thats another case going to be around awhile. I tend to drink the strong stuff more in the winter and much less in summer.

So all told, I keep (2) 3 gallon kegs and about 10 cases total in bottles. Which is still a lot of beer for one person. Granted they are not all full cases.

 

[seatazzz]

Yeah same here. Pretty much all of the lager styles. I don’t have a spare fridge to control temp and lager in. In addition to our house fridge, I’m already running a True commercial glass front beer fridge for bottles and a 2 tap kegerator. So my wife would not be happy if I bought another fridge to use for brewing - even a small one.

I’ve been doing psuedo-lagers - fermenting lager recipes with ale yeast. Had decent results with neutral American strains like 1056 and 1272. 1099 also worked very well. They list blonde ale under the styles 1099 can make, so I thought why not. I’m about to do an American Premium lager type recipe using Fermentis 34/70 and fermenting it at basement temps. Read many good comments about fermenting this yeast warm. I was going to do that beer today, but now I won’t be able to brew it until tomorrow. Really high hopes for this one. I planned a light lager and then I’m going to follow that up with an amber lager to re-use the same yeast.

My normal batch is 3 gallons. Works out to a case plus a 6 pack. I brew 3 gallon recipes on my Anvil Foundry 6.5. I formulate my recipes to collect 4 gallons, boil down to 3.5. 3.5 goes in the fermenter so I actually end up with 3 gallons when all is done.

Get thee hence over to the Warm Fermented Lager thread. You'll find oo-scoobs of good information there. I've won a silver medal and a red ribbon for mine, and got good comments from the judges; who don't know when they're tasting the beer how it was brewed. Pitching plenty of yeast, and lagering in the keg or bottle for about two weeks, and you can't tell the difference between it and one done with traditional methods. At least that's my very biased opinion....let the flames begin.

 

[seatazzz]

Many might laugh, but one of my favorite beers is Moosehead. I've never attempted it, mainly because I can't find a good clone recipe for it. Can't find it around here anymore either to do a comparison. Maybe someday....

 

[bwible]

Get thee hence over to the Warm Fermented Lager thread. You'll find oo-scoobs of good information there. I've won a silver medal and a red ribbon for mine, and got good comments from the judges; who don't know when they're tasting the beer how it was brewed. Pitching plenty of yeast, and lagering in the keg or bottle for about two weeks, and you can't tell the difference between it and one done with traditional methods. At least that's my very biased opinion....let the flames begin.

Been there, done that

 

[jtratcliff]

its not long before you’re overwhelmed with beer you can’t drink in a reasonable time

what is this nonsense? Is it even English? I have no Idea what this means!
Those words don't belong together!

 

[bwible]

Many might laugh, but one of my favorite beers is Moosehead. I've never attempted it, mainly because I can't find a good clone recipe for it. Can't find it around here anymore either to do a comparison. Maybe someday....

Molson Golden was my favorite for years. But it had to be golden.

I think one of the books, Beer Captured or North American Clonebews has a recipe for Moosehead

 

[NewJersey]

Sour beers. I enjoy them, but not enough to have 5 gallons around. I also generally only ever want a small pour anyways. Just one here and there kinda.
I'll let the pros do it for me

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Sour beers. I enjoy them, but not enough to have 5 gallons around. I also generally only ever want a small pour anyways. Just one here and there kinda.
I'll let the pros do it for me

I am on board with you there. I am not a massive sour fan, but I do occasionally enjoy a good one. There seems to be a fine line between an incredibly good complex sour and a terrible vinegar + diaper mess. The idea of keeping a carboy around for years filled with a random mix of dregs and hoping it works out (and does not contaminate my other beers) scares me a bit. I could maybe try a kettle sour, but I am not sure I have ever had a really great kettle sour. I could see throwing one of the sour producing yeasts at a beer one day, but there are so many other things that I enjoy drinking more.

Also...NEIPAs are on my list of "like but have only brewed a few times". Even when purchasing hops by the pound, they can be pretty expensive beers to brew. They are also fairly complex beers to pull off. While my last couple were pretty solid, there are just so many NEIPAs on tap every place I go that I don't get a lot of motivation to brew them myself. On the other hand, it is really hard to find good Belgians on tap, and imports are often $8 per 11 oz bottle...where I can make <5 gallons of a Dubbel or Saison for under $30.

 

[porterguy]

"There seems to be a fine line between an incredibly good complex sour and a terrible vinegar + diaper mess."

I always wanted to make one of these, but have never found a good recipe. When, exactly, do you put the diaper in? Is it in the mash? More like a hop addition for "x" number of minutes, or maybe a late dry hop/wet diaper addition?

 

[beersk]

Sour beers. I enjoy them, but not enough to have 5 gallons around. I also generally only ever want a small pour anyways. Just one here and there kinda.
I'll let the pros do it for me

Maybe like a Flanders Red or an Oud Bruin...I'd take 5 gallons of a really good one of those. But you don't have to do 5 gallons either...do a half batch.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

Pilsners and lagers and Octoberfest/marzen beers come to mind.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Stroh's but I'm getting da*n close...

 

[PaleMan]

Kolsch

 

[BrewChem]

Something akin to Utopias. A guy a work had two bottles that he shared a snort from. Definitely not something you drink by the pint but would be a nice “once in a while sipper” on a cold winter evening. Just can’t bring myself to part with the $$ for a bottle.

 

[JAReeves]

Since I now have a glycol setup, I plan on making my first lager. I am hoping to put together something Tipopils-esque, as I do love hops! On the other hand, I love the cleanness of a cold, dry Sapporo.

 

[Brooothru]

Since I now have a glycol setup, I plan on making my first lager. I am hoping to put together something Tipopils-esque, as I do love hops! On the other hand, I love the cleanness of a cold, dry Sapporo.

I remember once on an out-of-town trip staying at a hotel somewhere in Florida and having a "dry" beer in the bar that was being test marketed by one of the mega brewers. This was shortly after the advent of Miller Lite but predated the craft beer boom of the 80s. It was also before I got interested and involved as a hobbyist/homebrewer, and really didn't know much about beer other than Coors, Bud, Miller and some of the beers my Dad and uncles drank when I was growing up like Pabst, Schlitz and Hamm's.

I do remember being able to taste a significant difference between that Dry beer (I think it was Budweiser) and anything else I'd ever had up to that point. And I liked it. What ever it was, it obviously didn't make the cut. I do remember trying some Michelob Dry when it came out (and later flopped) but not liking it as much. I talked at length with the distributer who was there promoting the beer, but any of the information he was sharing was over my head at the time. Shortly after that time I began traveling a great deal overseas and gained a new appreciation for the many and varied styles of beers, which led to learning more about brewing and eventually trying my hand at it.

A few years ago when the popular kick became low carbs and lower calorie counts in beers, I used my homebrewer knowledge base to learn more about the process of brewing these beers and rediscovered dry beers, brewed with exotic enzymes and specialty grains. I think that trend led in some small way to the current trends toward lighter (color) beers using mostly base grains and fewer caramel malts. I'm much more conscious of calories than I was 45 years ago, so the trend toward crisper, cleaner tasting beers is probably a very good thing. I'm thinking a good, crisp rice-based Sapporo-esque beer sounds like a great idea on this Labor Day weekend.

Pardon me while I go shopping!

 

[crazyjake19]

I still have yet to brew a Kettle sour. I was planning on using GoodBelly, but all the stores around here stopped carrying the juice, so I'll have to order some probiotics online to use instead.

 

[JAReeves]

I still have yet to brew a Kettle sour. I was planning on using GoodBelly, but all the stores around here stopped carrying the juice, so I'll have to order some probiotics online to use instead.

I have never made a kettle sour either, but I plan to use some of my sourdough starter from baking. WTH, it'll be beer.

 

[crazyjake19]

I have never made a kettle sour either, but I plan to use some of my sourdough starter from baking. WTH, it'll be beer.

I believe James from Basic Brewing Radio did this before, or interviewed someone who did. Can't hurt to try! I've heard of using juice from sauerkraut or other ferments as well.